How To Get Brand Advertisers To Spend More On The Web
Gian M. Fulgoni is Executive Chairman and Co-founder of comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) Inc. Previously, he was President and CEO of Information Resources, Inc.
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Gian M. Fulgoni is Executive Chairman and Co-founder of comScore (NSDQ: SCOR) Inc. Previously, he was President and CEO of Information Resources, Inc.
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Good post, but a little misdirected.
The click was to blame 6-8 years ago, but not anymore.
Advertisers have gone way down the conversion funnel and are now measuring activity on their, or the targeted website. Direct response isn't about the click anymore, it's about the conversion. The conversion is what allowed direct response advertising to grow so much over time. It's kinda 1998 to say that direct response marketers are only looking at clicks. The biggest direct response marketers using DFA are all HEAVY users of Floodlight/Spotlight tags. Further, tracking conversions allows you to track revenue generated. It is much easier to make an argument for more online advertising spend if you can show revenue generated. This is something that branding has failed at miserably.
If brand marketers are trying to demonstrate online ad spend value by going after the click then they're chasing the fumes and not the race car. The car is way way ahead by now.
Why has the internet failed to attract branding dollars? Simple – current ad models are ineffective and a poor ROI. I recently read click through rates are an average to be 0.07% (a little worse than mentioned in this article) and 10 times worst on social networks. Advertisers need to evolve as "new media" has evolved as opposed to bringing legacy print and broadcast mentality to Internet ads. Warning here on covert programs as well.
I see two possible evolutions (and I am sure there are a number of other winning scenarios as well.)
1) A well planned social media program that is completely integrated in an over-arching marketing plan. (Read various posting at http://www.socialsteve.wordpress.com for more information).
2) As the socialization of the web evolves, consumers control how to present themselves to the universe of marketers, BUT consumer privacy is ensured … brands do NOT have access to consumer contact or profile info. This is mediated. Consumers tell brands, âMake it worth my while, and you can follow me.â This will produce a collaborative environment where consumers manage the information they receive, brands communicate/advertise with a highly targeted market and have the highest ROI experienced.
Social Steve
Kwesi Steele:
Thanks for your comment.
Unfortunately, a recent Forrester survey of marketers found that 35% of them are still using the click as the main metric in evaluating the effectiveenss of their display ad campaigns. So we have quite a bit of work still to do in establishing that they're chasing the fumes and not the car.
Regarding use of the click and conversion in direct response ads such as search, I would point out that this gives total credit to the last click and ignores all the branding effort that occurred higher up the funnel.
In fact, comScore research shows that display ads are very effective in increasing the number of trademark search queries that occur and that there is substantial synergy from a combined display and search campaign. The simple assumption that 100% of the credit for a sale should be given to the click on a direct response ad is incorrect because it ignores the positive impact of all the marketing effort that occurred higher up the funnel.
The rapid growth in the use of attribution models is, I believe, evidence that this is beginning to be recognized. But, again, we have a way to go in educating the industry.
Brand advertising is typically handled through agencies. One question to ask is the agency's roll in steering brand advertising toward traditional channels. I believe this happens for 2 primary reasons.
It's safe. They've trained the brands to use these channels and to accept their intrinsic (and largely unmeasurable) value.
Second, there is no Google equivalent evangelizing Brand advertising online. Affiliate networks offer very cost effective broad reach advertising; much cheaper than TV. Unfortunately affiliate networks are represented by a blizzard of small players and the early networks muddied the waters with some poor business practices. With no "one stop shop" Google equivalent, it is difficult for agencies to learn and adopt affiliate networks into their media mix. The tools exist. The players just keep playing the same tune.
I just think that it is challenging to find a brand medium online, other than the presentation methods of one’s own website. There isn’t a great way to reach out to and make an impression on a certain demographic online, and then see what sticks. Most of the online marketing solutions right now still are largely reliant on who is passing through, which is not yet as easy to qualify or control.
As a company who’s “brand” coincidentally helps people protect their “brand” with a trademark, I couldn’t agree more with your assessment. I think that you see the people who are heeding your advice are really winning.
In our industry you can find the company legalzoom who I think has done a wonderful job branding themselves as the “biggest IP company on the web”.
It certainly makes it challenging for smaller companies like ourselves. who undoubtedly have a higher quality product, and even better prices, to try to combat the sheer numbers that can be reached by the big buget.
Bart